Henry, using binoculars he made himself, on the lookout for excitement:
We attended a streetcar demonstration for the Santa Cruz rail trail (which could be really cool if the powers that be would stop arguing about it long enough to fully implement the combination bike/walking trail and passenger rail line).
The weather was absolutely terrible, so the local tourist rail company provided a train car for everyone to wait in until the actual streetcar ride began. A somewhat impatient Jack waits with Steve:
A much happier Jack, once he got on the streetcar and things got moving:
Henry, riding the streetcar with his folks:
Family picture by said streetcar, parked at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk after our ride:
Outdoor Miscellany
The boys race their scooters at our local park:
MUD!
Me: Didn't I say not to turn on the hose?
Children: Daddy said it was okay. (tongues stuck out, presumably for emphasis)
In between making messes, doing a bit of sweeping out front:
Henry figured out that he can do monkey bars and was excited to show off:
Jack can't quite make his way across, but was having fun hanging around:
Indoor Miscellany
The boys realize Dad is trying to take a picture of them being cute doing their alphabet workbook together and immediately cease said cuteness:
Jack "helps" Steve compete with Henry in a game of Sequence for Kids:
Jacky in cat glasses!
Which is an excellent segue into...
The boys have a blast playing with jack o lantern balloons:
Always ready for a seasonal craft, the boys make paper jack o' lanterns:
We poured over Google image search for their preferred lantern designs, Henry selecting a smiley face with a purple bow, and Jack selecting a scary face with a witch's hat.
Porch decorating begins with some lights and Gemmy, the light-up shark with a witch's hat:
Jack approves:
We attempted to grow mini pumpkins this year...
... only to have a squirrel (or several) scurry in and eat them.
The darn squirrel(s) even took a bite out of another pumpkin we had on our porch.
Halloween!
Henry's witch fingers portend spookiness to come:
Henry was very excited for Halloween, at one point leaving the table without dessert to play with Halloween decorations, only to race back saying, "I forgot about dessert because I had so much Halloween in my mind!"
So, off to the pumpkin patch we went:
Jack takes his wagon-pushing duties very seriously:
Henry discovers the perfect pumpkin...
... and adds it to all the other perfect pumpkins already in the wagon.
Back at home with our gourd haul, it was time to begin carving.
Per Jack, "Nothing gives me more joy than pumpkins!"
Henry shows off the goopy innards:
Jack, diligently scooping:
I hover over the proceedings, as I tend to do:
End product (Henry's left, Jack's right):
Henry did a lot of carving himself, with some help from Steve, while Jack preferred that I do most of his.
Now, that's a house ready for Halloween:
The boys made cute paper plate ghosts at school and toilet paper roll bats at home with me:
Henry's bat:
Jack's bat:
I added the smiles, but the boys painted, assembled and glued the rest.
Inspired by my crafty sister-in-law Jenny, this year we made milk jug ghosts. The boys selected the faces they wanted, had me draw the outlines, and then the boys colored them in.
Jack:
Super Cat Jack:
Astronaut Henry:
Chicken Henry using his magic wand to cast a spell on Daddy, who's foolishly not obeying Chicken Henry:
Attitude, from Chicken Henry:
Bull (Jack) and Owlet (Henry), Earth's greatest heroes:
I was told Bull is strong and fast, and Owlet flies.
Squirrel Henry and Giraffe Jack play Spot It:
Yes, they have too many costumes, but they're still so young and cute, it's hard to say no to new acquisitions.
Henry chose to be a squirrel:
Jack chose to be...
... part Captain America...
... part park ranger (vest and binoculars)...
... part Bull...
... and part pirate.
Jack loves his Captain America shield, and stated very solemnly one evening, "I'll never grow too old for this shield. When I'm a grown-up, I'm still gonna have this shield."
Speaking of school, our boys have a penchant for collecting things, which pile up in their cubbies throughout the day. Jack collects primarily beads, craft gems and "building" supplies:
Henry primarily collects plants (flowers on a good day, things like rotting acorns on the not-so-good days):
The boys selected yet another round of costumes to attend the local children's museum's Halloween party.
Park Ranger Jack and Firefighter Henry:
Cool spiderweb at the museum:
Jack demonstrates the museum's rain cycle display:
When the button is pressed, a puff of air pushes balls up the tubing into the "cloud" above the house. The balls then fall from the cloud onto the house's roof, then roll into the rain gutter, and then fall into the rain barrel to begin the process all over again.
In the museum's craft room, Jack paints a pumpkin:
Henry works on his pumpkin:
Then paints some corn for good measure:
The picture I took does not do this display justice in the slightest, but I wanted to include it anyway. When the wheels are turned, water jets blast a water wheel in the tank, which generates power for a fan that pushes balls into the air. The water pressure and air pressure can be adjusted. The display seemed largely passed over by the other kids, but once my boys figured out what it did, they spent a long time racing back and forth, shouting frantic directions at each other to adjust the controls on the machine.
I need to build one of those at our house.
Firefighter Henry gives the rock wall a try:
The fun continued with a Halloween care package sent by former nanny Kasey!
The lanterns were a huge hit and looked great:
Jack, gleefully opening a bag of goodies:
Henry showing off the bat mask he assembled:
Jack's bat mask:
Jack's kitty mask:
Giraffe Henry was handed this card by a young girl we met in the crowd:
Her mom explained that the girl had made these cards to award to people she saw whose costumes she was particularly fond of.
The kids react to the ghostbuster falling onto the ghost (everyone was fine):
Time to flee the scene!
Terra sewed the Sisu dragon costume for Esmee herself, and did a beautiful job. Terra attached a scrunchie to the end of the dragon tail, so that Esmee could wrap the scrunchie around her wrist and keep her tail off the ground. It was an elegant solution... had Esmee acquiesced to doing it. However, she was not inclined to do so. Jack, seeing a problem that needed solving, carried Esmee's tail around for her for most of the evening, including while they were out trick or treating in the neighborhood.
Then it was time to trick or treat downtown. The event was crowded, with lots of retailers participating, and the boys got quite a haul:
Then the boys were fortunate enough to be invited by Terra (a friend from Steve's work) to attend a Halloween party with her daughter Esmee and a group of friends. It was the boys' first Halloween party and they had an absolute blast.
Park Ranger Jack, Giraffe Henry and Sisu (from Raya and the Last Dragon) Esmee look on as Ghostbuster Osiris attempts to "bust" Ghost (not-our-)Jack:
The fog machine was a big hit:
As if the boys didn't have enough candy after their downtown adventure earlier in the day, the final combined haul after cruising the neighborhood around the party was obscene:
I don't think we're going to be able to top this Halloween next year... or possibly ever.
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